Portents of Magic
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: Merlin has a dream of the future of magic, and he finds it disturbing. Slight crossovers with Charmed and Harry Potter, and a prequel to a future story.


The fact I don't earn any money from my writing on this site is proof enough I don't own what I write about, and Merlin belongs to the BBC. Charmed and Harry Potter are mentioned.

A prequel to my future story Evil of the Future.

**Portents of Magic.**

Merlin was dreaming of magic.

As a warlock, and imbued with magic since birth, it came easily to him to dream of it. Merlin often had dreams of magic, and since he'd arrived in Camelot all those years before to learn from Gaius, only for the Great Dragon to tell him it was his duty to protect and advise Arthur, not to mention his destiny so then magic would safely come back.

It wasn't easy. Hiding his powers, his birthright from Arthur, who sometimes acted cruel, but both of them knew it was an act. Then there was Morgana and the fact it was Merlin disguised as an old man when trying to cure Uther, a man who'd relentlessly persecuted magic users to find someone to blame for his own actions for the death of his wife, only to have those dreams go down a drain because Morgana had interfered, driving Arthur to be a less extreme version of his magic hating father.

From a certain point of view Merlin could see the points of Uther's philosophy and what he'd taught Arthur about magic, but it was more difficult than the simplistic view they both spun about magic.

When you look at a sword, an axe, or a knife, you look at elaborate pieces of forged metal; an axe could be used as a tool to cut down trees, with woods you could make fire to keep warm, cook food, and so on.

If you pick up a sword, you have a choice to use it to protect your family and kingdom from raiding gangs, but if you chose you could use the sword to brutally murder and unharmed man. A knife could be used to help you eat, and it could be used to stab someone in the back without them even knowing who'd done it.

Magic was the same, it could be used as a tool, it could heal the injured or dying, it could kill mercifully, but it too could be used for great evil as Morganna and sorcerers like her were doing. Merlin often bemoaned the fact people like Morgause and Edwin Muirden were making it far too easy for Arthur to continue decreeing magic as evil and corruptive.

It wasn't helping their case, but on the other hand Merlin had to admit he understood where the motives were; Uther had personally destroyed all magic users in the kingdom of Camelot, captured and imprisoned the Great Dragon, and he had raised his son with lies about the power of magic.

* * *

As Merlin slept, he fell into a sort of limbo, unable to move, but only to watch.

Then he saw the visions of the future.

A magical future.

He saw a future magical world forced to hide from their non magical compatriots. Merlin watched as the magical world descended from using pure natural magic to using sticks with pieces of magical creatures like dragon heartstrings, unicorn tailhairs, and phoenix feathers. Merlin watched as the world steadily stagnated, and he also watched horrified as the magical world became polluted with a dogma where wizards became more and more convinced of their own superiority.

Purebloods.

Merlin watched in horror as these same aristocrats acted like some of the nobility he'd known in all the years he'd worked in Camelot, only some of them were arrogant, persecuting those whom they considered to be unacceptable to learn magic. Merlin wanted to scream, to reach through as he watched some of these wizards openly bait these students wearing robes and trying to learn how to use their gifts. Magic wasn't meant for a minority, it was there for everyone, and these fools couldn't see it.

It grew worse as Merlin watched, shuddering when he saw a wizard appear. This wizard oozed evil in a way Morgana couldn't, he had a snakelike face and red eyes. Merlin watched as this wizard rose from living with the non-magical world, only to be as hypocritical as Uther was, and making plans to wipe out those he considered to be unworthy. Basically everyone who wasn't him.

Merlin watched as a young boy had his parents murdered, only for the fatal curse to be blasted back and ripping the evil wizard out of his body, leaving the boy a lightning bolt shaped scar, but he wasn't dead. The boy was raised by those who knew of magic, knew and hated it. Uther would've gotten along famously with these small minded bigots. They thought alike.

The boy then attended a magical school, and Merlin shook his head when he saw the boy take the easy route because of his background where his relatives would beat him if he scored perfect results, and his 'best friends.' If there was someone other than the wizards whom Merlin believed was unworthy of learning magic, it was this boys friends, both of them were spying on the boy at the behest of the old headmaster of the school. Merlin watched as the boy gradually became darker and darker as the years passed, and the evil wizard wouldn't leave him alone.

Merlin watched in shock and awe as the boy learnt the truth of his friends, and how he almost destroyed an entire bank run by goblins only to withdraw into himself. He also saw the boys parents, both very much alive, having left their own son to die. If Merlin had thought his life was bad, he was thinking it had been a walk down a road compared to this boy.

The boy disowned his parents, and started travelling to learn as much magic as possible to make up for lost time, leaving his parents and former friends to either die or suffer because of their mistakes, ruining the old wizard's plans in the process...

* * *

The vision changed to another magical community, one closer to Merlin's own, but close to the other wizarding world as it was happening at the same time.

Like practioners of the Old Religion, these sorcerers used wandless magic, and seemed purer. They were, Merlin was pleased to note, closer to their non magical brethren than the other community, and as a result were more knowledgeable. These sorcerers made potions more readily than spells, which were as poetic as some of the spells Merlin had used himself.

Merlin had watched in awe as the non magical people advanced, changing from superstition to reason and science, eventually constructing buildings grander than those in kingdoms, towers that reached heights inconceiveable today.

Their weapons changed, moving from the honourable knights Merlin knew too well, to trained and well equipped soldiers, using bombs that could wipe out whole cities in one second.

Underestimating them was a mistake, one the wand users seemed to not realise.

Merlin watched as three witches met the young boy, learning of his plight and helping him cast off the wand using heritage, and making him an all powerful sorcerer, using his magic only for good, not for evil.

The three witches were powerful because their powers were symbiotic, all of them contributed to the whole. A Power of three.

Merlin saw and witnessed their many deeds, keeping non magicals safe at all costs, learning about themselves the same way Merlin himself did and still does. The Warlock watched amused as the witches tried to maintain a normal life, but he knew it was far from easy having to constantly think up new excuses and all that.

He wished them well.

He didn't wish the wand users anything, except for them to grow up before it was too late.

* * *

Merlin woke up early, and he couldn't help but wonder why he'd dreamt all this.

He wouldn't have long to wait, because a sorcerer more cunning and dangerous as Morgana was coming, and would shape Arthur's views for many years to come, thanks to another wizard coming back through time to stop him from destroying the future.

The future of magic.

Lord Voldemort was coming, but so too was Harry Potter.

Neither could live if the other survives.

It was the prophecy as binding as Merlin's own.

**Authors' note. Please tell me what you think.**


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